By KNA
The memorial service for the 21 boys who died in the Hillside Endarasha Academy dormitory fire early in the month will be held next week on Wednesday.
Acting Central Regional Commissioner Pius Murugu confirmed that the interdenominational prayer service will be held at the Mweiga Stadium, and the bodies will be released to bereaved parents for burial.
The government will cover all burial expenses for the affected families, and the committee met on Friday to finalise the service details.
“The Hillside Academy Fire Disaster Management Committee has settled for Wednesday next week as the day for the memorial service for the 21 boys who died in the fire,” said Murugu.
The majority of the victims hail from Kieni West sub-county, while others hail from Nakuru, Nairobi, Embu, and Meru counties. At the end of the DNA matching process, the committee will release the names of the victims who died when their dormitory caught fire.
The committee will hold another meeting to finalise the memorial service and burial arrangements, as they expect the victims to be buried after the service.
Chief Government Pathologist, Dr. Johansen Odour, informed journalists that all 21 bodies of the pupils had been successfully matched to their parents through DNA matching.
“We have the pleasure to announce that we have received DNA results of the 21 victims of the fire which took place at Endarasha Hillside Academy. From the results we have, it indicates that the students are children of the parents who match with all of the 21,” said Dr. Oduor during a press briefing at the Naro Moru Level IV hospital.
Dr. Oduor also informed journalists that the process of contacting the bereaved parents for the purposes of handing over the remains had started. He said that the process is being undertaken by officers from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations together with the Kenya Red Cross.
“We are now in the process of contacting the relatives. We have a team made of DCI and Red Cross so that we can have them come over and unite them with their loved ones, and we are preparing for the next process of assisting them in how they are going to bury them,” he said.
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